Rs 500 & Rs 1000 ban: 'Good news' for phone buyers.

Mobile phone retailers have started offering zero down payment options to stir sales that have slowed down drastically over the past week, as consumers preserve cash on hand for making basic necessity purchases amid a liquidity crunch caused by demonetisation of large denomination notes.

"Saturday morning onwards, we're asking consumers to pay nothing upfront and take mobile phones, and pay the amount in equal monthly instalments over 12 months," said Subhash Chandra, managing director of Bengaluru-based Sangeetha Mobiles, which has 300 stores in several states of South India.


Retailers have typically followed the method of financing, where a part of the cost of the phone is paid up front while the rest is paid in monthly instalments at a certain rate of interest, besides accepting payments through credit cards, debit cards and all cash. About 3040% transactions are done in cash.

Since launching this scheme, "we have got some breather from the horrible sales", Chandra said.

Consumers have put the purchase of large appliances and small electronic items such as phones, lower down on their priority lists after the government demonetized the `500 and `1,000 currency notes from Wednesday. The move has led to a drop in demand at retail stores across the country, and analysts expect the trend to continue for a few weeks to a month, or more, till the time the cash crunch subsides.

Retailers, especially of consumer electronics and phones, have started rolling out various schemes to incentivise purchases with the aim of selling as much inventory as possible.

Courtesy:- www.gadgetsnow.com.